Sofa bed



Dec. 28, 1943. M. Fox 2,337,712

SOFA BED 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 12, 1942 @y @am ma; @ma gym.

Dec. 28, 1943. M FQX soFA BED Filed sept. 12, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec.28, 1943. M. FOX

SOFA BED Filed Sept. 12, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,Fig l avi/14ML Eff/47@M221 VMM,

Patented Dec. 2S, 1943 SOFA BED Martin Fox, Chicago, Ill., assignor toThe Seng Company, a corporation of Illinois Application September 12,1942, SerialNo. 458,100

2 Claims.

This invention relates to sofa beds, and more particularly to the typein which two sections forming a seat portion and a back portion arehingedly connected together and movably mounted on a supporting frame bymeans of pitmans i so that the device may readily be converted to eithera sofa or bed.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an attractive, easilyoperable structure which is thoroughly reliable in operation but can beconstructed with a minimum of strategic materials, such as iron andsteel. The present structure has its parts so designed that most of themechanism may be made of wood.

Another object of the invention is to provide a convertible sofa whereinthe back section and seat section are hinged together and provided withan automatically engageable latch which serves to hold the two sectionsin proper angular relation when either of the sections is moved from thehorizontal bed position to proper angular relation to form a sofa. Asboth of the sections and the latch are movable as a unit on the pitmans,it is very convenient to tilt the seat section upwardly so that thelatch is readily accessible for release by the operators hand or foot.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment, in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational viewillustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention with themechanism arranged to form a sofa; Figure 2, a sectional view of thestructure in the same position as shown in Figure 1, taken as indicatedat the section line of Figure 5; tion similar to Figure 2 showing theseat structure tilted upwardly to make the latch accessible from thefront of the structure; Figure 4, a sectional view similar to Figure 2showing the structure with the back section and seat section inhorizontal position to form a bed; Figure 5, a fragmentary plan view ofthe structure opened to form a bed; and Figure 6, a fragmentarysectional view showing a modied form of latch.

In the embodiments illustrated, a supporting base frame is in the formof a box having end panels "I, a back panel 8, and a front panel 9. Abottom wall I0 with the side panels, forms a container which may serveto hold pillows, and other bed clothing, if desired. Suitable legs Illaand arm rests II, shown in dotted lines, may be provided, if desired.

A back section I2 is movably mounted on the end panel 1 in the baseframe by means of a pair of rear pitmans I3 and shorter front pitmansI4.

Figure 3, a sec- The rear pitmans I3 are connected in the supportingbase frame, as indicated at I5, and to the seat section, as indicated atI5. The shorter pitmans I4 are pivoted to the base frame, as indicatedat Il, and to the seat frame, as indicated at I8. It will be understoodthat the linkage arrangement is the same at each end of the supportingframe.

A seat section I9 has an extension 20 which is hinged to the backsection I2 at the pivot I8. When the sections are turned to the positionillustrated in Figures 4 and 5, it will be seen that their connectedcentral portions are supported by the pitmans I3 and I4 and as the freeend of the back portion I2 rests on the top of the panel 8, it isrigidly held in position. The seat section I9, hinged to the backsection at I8 and having its free end resting on the top of the frontpanel 9, is also firmly positioned so that a con- Vertible bed may beformed thereon. It will be understood that each of the sections isformed to receive a suitable upholstered cushion which will also serveas a mattress when the device is transformed into a bed.

In the form shown in Figures 1 5, inclusive, pawls 2| are pivotallymounted at 22 in brackets 23 secured to the back section I2. The pawlsare connected for simultaneous operation by means of a cross bar 24which extends from one end of the structure to the other. A smalltension spring 25 is shown extending from the cross bar 24 to the backsection I2 and yieldingly urges the pawls upwardly into engagement withlugs 26 provided on the rear end of the seat section I9. While a springis preferred for this purpose, it will be understood that the pawls maybe weighted or other yielding means substituted to produce the sameeffect.

When the structure is extended to form a bed, as illustrated in Figure4, it will be understood that it is merely necessary to raise either ofthe sections I2 or I9 to proper angular relation with the companionsection to form a sofa. The two sections and the latch are thus broughtto the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the structure is ready foruse as a sofa. In this position the inner end portion of the seat frameis restrained against further backward movement by means of a stop 1a..

To transform the structure from a sofa to a bed, the two sections andlatch are turned as a unit to the position shown in Figure 3 which makesthe latch 24 easily accessible from the front of the structure. Bydepressing the latch,

the seat frame may be lowered into the position shown in Figure 4.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 6, the supporting structure,seat section, and back section are constructed the same as describedabove and accordingly the same reference numbers apply. However, in thisform a modied form of latch is illustrated. An arm 2l is pivotallymounted at 28 on an extension 29 of the back section. The arm isprovided with a notch 30 to engage a short stud 3! carried by a yoke 32which is rigidly secured to the back section I9. If desired, arms 21 maybe provided at each end of the structure and may be connected by a crossbar 33 which is accessible to release the latch when the structure isturned up to the position illustrated in Figure 6.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom for some modications will be obvious to those skilled in theart.

, I claim:

1. A sofa bed, comprising: a supporting base frame having elevated frontand rear panels; a back section linked to said base frame by means of apair of spaced pitmans at each end of the base frame, the rear pitmansbeing longer than the front pitmans; a seat section hinged to said backsection so that it may form a horizontal eX- tension thereof when theback section is swung down to form a bed wherein the central connectedportions of the sections are supported by the pitmans and the freeportions rest on the elevated panels of the supporting base frame andwhen forming a sofa said seat section having its rear end portionresting on the end panels of the base frame and the front end portionsresting on the front panel so as to incline the seat upwardly at thefront; and a releasable latch on the sections for holding them in theangular relation required for sitting position, saidY sections and latchbeing movable as a unit which may be swung forwardly to expose the latchfor release from the front of the structure.

2. A sofa bed as specified in claim l, in which 20 the latch has pawlspivoted at opposite ends of

